After dinner Peeta helped me clean the dishes. He was quieter than normal but I tried to change the mood. "Do you want to watch some TV with me tonight?" I asked. He shook his head no and "Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked, to which he nodded yes.
We headed out to walk about our little area of the district. Most people were inside their homes with lights on inside. As we continue walking I see Peeta start heading to towards the town. It's not an especially long walk, but I had only taken it once before since being home and even then the stares I got were uncomfortable. With no one else outside though I thought it wouldn't hurt and continued following him. We walked in silence really so I began to think about everything and everyone. The Games, Prim, Rue, the Victory Tours and sharing a bed with Peeta for comfort's sake. I missed him. Even though he was less than 6 feet away from me I missed him. Then I thought of Finnick and the little boy who will never know his father. The pain began to weight heavy on my mind and I noticed I was walking slower than before. Peeta turned in my direction and shot me a concerned look as we wandered closer and closer to the bakery.
As we stood outside and I wandered up to his side he began talking, "Katniss. I miss them so much. I know some things are a little fuzzy, and maybe we didn't have an ideal family, but they were my family. Now I have no family." I guess he had been thinking about similar things as me during our walk. He continued, "I just wish I had a family. I'm jealous that you still have your mother. You even have Gale who would welcome you back with open arms if you chose to go there with him. Who do I have? What do I have? I have the empty shell of a bakery, some paintings, and flashbacks that turn me into a monster." "Peeta, you have me," I said, reaching out my hand to take his. He didn't reject it. "Peeta, I would never go back to Gale. There's no point to it. I could never love him." Peeta squeezed my hand and pulled me closer to him to give me a hug. The embrace sent electric waves throughout my body and I couldn't help but want to stay like this forever.
We stood there, hugging each other for several minutes with his chin resting on my head when I noticed my hair was getting a little damp. I looked up at him to notice he was crying. I pulled him in tighter and tried to comfort him as well as I could, reassuring him that he wasn't alone because he had me, Haymitch and the geese. This made him chuckle and as he pulled away from the hug and wiped away his tears with his hand his other hand reached for mine again and gave it a tight squeeze. "Thank you, Katniss," he said, "thank you for being such a good friend. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."
As we turned to head back to the Victor's Village I noticed we didn't let go of each other's hands. We simply walked back slowly and silently until we saw some of Haymitch's geese run out from their makeshift pen and walk across the road. We chuckled and walked to my door where Peeta gave me another tight hug. "Thank you again," he said. I invited him in but he shook his head and said he should get back home and sleep.
The next morning I woke up to the smell and sounds of bacon frying on the stove. I headed downstairs and to my surprise Peeta was there alone cooking breakfast. "Where's Sae?" "Oh, I told her she didn't need to come by as often anymore. We could make our own breakfast. Besides, her husband hasn't been too well either. I thought I'd give her some more time to herself. It's the lease we could do." I was surprised by his actions just as much as I was surprised to learn Sae still had a husband.
As I sat at the table he brought two plates and set them down. Bacon, an egg and fresh bread with butter. This was a bit more luxurious than Sae usually made. "I love bacon," I admitted, to which he grinned. We ate in silence and upon completion of our meal got up to do the dishes.
"So what are you plans for the day?" He asked. "I don't know. Probably go hunting. Maybe pick some wild greens and fruit. You?" "Thom's coming over so I can show him some plans I have for the bakery," he said excitedly. I smiled at the thought of us having a happy and productive day. And that's exactly what it was.
After breakfast he went back home to talk with Thom and I grabbed my father's jacket, pulled on my boots and headed out, ready for a great day. I was out longer than I expected and decided to head towards the lake where I used to swim with my dad. It was the summer and my feet were tired from climbing and running for so long and I thought it wouldn't hurt to do a little swimming. As I floated in the water I remembered trying to teach Peeta to swim and couldn't help but smile. When I put my clothes back on I noticed the sun was setting and headed back to the village. As I was walking up to my home Peeta was leaving his, headed towards mine. He laughed as he saw me, still wet from my swim, and sarcastically asked if I had picked up fishing instead of hunting. I held up my bags of fresh meat and plants and he gave me a look of being sincerely impressed. We sat on the steps as I took my wet shoes and socks off and he held the door for me as I plopped them outside to dry.
"So how did it go with Thom?" "It went pretty well. We went to go take a look at the bakery and even got started cleaning it out a little." It was then that I noticed he was a little dustier than he had been this morning. "So what are we having for dinner, Mr. Mellark?" I asked, while cleaning the birds I had shot. "ehh… I'm not sure. I told Sae to take the night off because her husband is still sick, so let's see what we have. Pheasant, wild greens and strawberries. Delicious!" and he began washing the dirt off of the greens and berries. He dug around the kitchen to find everything he needed and made a delicious meal with my bounty and some fresh cheese buns. I was impressed with his meal. Not that I was surprised. With what he was able to bake it didn't surprise me that he could also cook.
After our meal we moved to the couch, not cleaning the dishes. We sat there, bellies full, and shared our experiences from the day. It was enjoyable and comfortable to sit so close to him. Our sides were touching and the entire area of contact felt warm and comfortable to me. When it got later, Peeta pulled me up and we headed to the sink to do dishes. "Peeta, how have you been feeling," I asked, wishing I hadn't. He grew a little quieter and responded softly with fine. I didn't want to press the issue so we finished the dishes and he got ready to go. As he said goodbye he pulled me in for a quick, friendly hug and said he'd see me tomorrow.
I was especially happy following our goodbye and headed upstairs. As I changed into my nightgown I decided to sleep with the windows open. Like Peeta liked to do. I lay in bed and thought about him. How he used to feel in the bed next to me. How he always defended me. How the Capitol took him from me and tortured him. How he tried to kill me. The room suddenly grew colder and I pulled the blanket up, trying to force myself to sleep.
He was on top of me. Snow was laughing and spewing blood on my face as he pinned me down trying to take advantage of me. Peeta just stood there, snarling at me like a crazed dog while I screamed for help. I kept screaming as every dead person I knew came by saying I deserved this. Finally, Snow took my Mockingjay pin and stabbed it right into my heart and I woke up, screaming.
It couldn't have been too late in the night but shortly after I woke up I heard screaming coming from Peeta's open window also. But his didn't stop. I ran downstairs in my nightgown and ran towards his house. He never locks doors so I opened it and ran upstairs to his bedroom. Peeta continued screaming so I sat on the bed next to him and stroked his arm calling for him softly, "Peeta? Peeta, you're okay. You're okay, it was only a dream." He squeezed his eyes tight and pulled me in, closer to him. He was covered in sweat. I laid down on the bed next to him and pulled him in closer to me. When he finally woke up he opened his eyes widely with a look of horror on his face, "Katniss, are you okay? Did I do anything to you? I'm so sorry," "shh, shh. No, you're okay. I was awake and heard you. It frightened me a little so I came by to make sure you're okay," I said, trying to soothe him. His face relaxed and he laid back down, pulling me in tightly and closing his eyes. "They took you from me. I don't want them to take you from me. You're all I have right now," he continued to say as I shooshed him back to sleep. Eventually I became drowsy as well and feel asleep in his arms.